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Mopping advice please......


stu_td

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hello all!! ive just ordered some G3 paste compound. ive already got a machine. ive been told im better off wet mopping. obviously its pretty simple running a machine over the car but are there any tips or advice you might have before i go ahead? many thanks stu :thumb:

 

 

as far as i know keep it wet and dont go too fast. also if its a dark car your better off doing by hand otherwise you'll leave swirl marks.

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polishing dark coloured cars like black using a mop, a polishing pad and G3 will create small top layer scratches or swirl marks but there is a product out there that will get rid of them no problem. we got one at the bodyshop i work at, its made by 3M and its an ultra fine polish with a blue cap and its used with a blue mop pad which is very soft and is not as harsh as the polishing pad. its otherwise known as the final finish pad

 

heres a link from clean your car:

 

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing/la...d/prod_274.html

 

thats one of many you can get sonus ones etc

 

if you are just polishing the existing surface of the paintwork on your car you have got to be very careful on how you polish it using the mop, start using a slow speed, if you have a mop that has 6 speeds then start with 2 at first till you get used to how the workings of the mop, do you have a spare painted panel that you an practice if so practice on that first if not then start with a small area of the car say for example a front wing

 

like people have said before soak the polishing pad in water before use as it will decrease the amount of friction caused by the pad be warned it will be very messy so wear old clothes. also the G3 polish will dry eventually, so do one panel at a time and clean off any excess polish even in between gaps as they are hard to get to and will be harder to get off when the polish excess is fully dry. sometimes it even stains!

 

also seeing that you are a beginner you will need a full day to do it as its quite hard at first but you will get used to it. try to avoid the edges of the paintwork as the paint around the edges is quite thin. oh and DO NOT POLISH BUMPERS! or any plastic trim or bodykit parts as the mop can easily burn through the paint as bumpers heat up faster than normal metal panels.

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nah mate do it by the mop because its faster, polishing it by hand will take ages to get done right and you may miss a few spots! yeah you will get light scratches and swirls but you will get the same effect doing it by hand as well, just buy the blue final finishing pad and some ultrafine swirl mark reducer compund and use the blue pad with it after you done the polishing and done. it will take a professional to do a whole car around an hour to 2 hours maximum to get it all done. for a beginner probably around 3-4 hours max depends on how well you do your work plus using a mop will bring a mirror perfect shine to the paint work!
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try by hand first to get an idea of what g3 is like.

 

This is by hand, my girlfriend done half of the bonnet and its no different to my half.

 

Before...

http://www.evo-host.co.uk/getimg/12529.jpg

 

After...

http://www.evo-host.co.uk/getimg/12530.jpg

 

Still got to go over it with the g10 but there are hardly any scratch marks anyway.

Yes i know the bonnet is dented but it was an experiment more than anything else.

 

By the way, your paintwork doesnt look bad enough to be compounded (might look different in real life). Try a less harsher polish first and MAKE SURE you clay well before doing anything!!!!

 

One more thing, you see the red rag on the windscreen? It started off white/cream. This is a fair indicator of how much paint you are actually taking off your car unless you have a clear coat.

Edited by cherrybeard
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